Sirius_Alpha wrote:Unless I've missed something, where it stands today, this is a single rumour being spread by someone at Der Spiegel. So not only is this going through a bit of a game of "telephone" where someone who works with ESO talked with an interviewer who probably doesn't understand the nuances of the science, it's also being written up with a sensationalist filter specifically skewed to make the story more click-bait worthy. I really don't see a reason to be excited about this yet.

I have to agree here. Better to wait for the actual announcement rather than rely on the rumours. Furthermore, claims of potential habitability seem to be routinely exaggerated in exoplanet press releases and even the discovery papers themselves, so I'm not going to hold my breath on this one.

"...On Wednesday, Aug. 24, we could find out whether or not the recent rumors of an Earth-like exoplanet existing on our interstellar doorstep are real.In a press notification on Monday, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said only that they "will host a press conference at its Headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany" and that the ESO's Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, will open the event. The press conference will start at 1 p.m. Central European Time (CET) -- 7 a.m. EDT/4 a.m. PDT. There was no mention of the scientists who would be in attendance or what astronomical topic the event would focus on..."